Page 67 of Tell Me Your Desires
“What? Why? That’s a sexy position!”
“Ha! Reverse cowgirl is not a fair trade. Why doyouget a view of my back arching and my ass bouncing while all I get to see is your toes throwing gang signs?”One, two, three…Anya got to five before Jaime burst out laughing. The sound was so loud and sudden that it scared Derek, who jumped off the swing and scampered away.
“Gang signs?” Jaime managed. “Is that what they do?”
Anya curled her fingers to demonstrate, causing Jaime to laugh even harder.
“Fine, no reverse cowgirl. Ever again.” Jaime wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. “I willneverget that image out of my head now. Thanks for that.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll forget all about it the moment my ass is in your line of sight again.”
Jaime wrapped her hand around the back of Anya’s neck and pulled her in close. She crushed her mouth to Anya’s, forcing down a moan before things got heated. “You can’t say things like that and expect me to get shit done,” Jaime whispered against Anya’s lips. “Fuck.”
“Think of it as foreplay,” Anya whispered back. She touched her forehead to Jaime’s, lingering for a beat or two. Would this be their last peaceful moment for the foreseeable future? “Tell me you’re going to be safe.”
“I’m going to be safe, baby.” The endearment slipped out, but Jaime didn’t care. And since Anya hadn’t flinched, it seemed she didn’t mind either. “We’ll end this threat, and then I can focus on you and fully explore what we have here. Yeah?”
The lump in Anya’s throat stole her voice, so she merely nodded and kissed Jaime again. It was her way of promisingnot only Jaime but also herself to explore whatever the hell they wanted when this was all over.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Well,well, well. Look who decided to grace us with her presence.”
Lady A rolled her eyes. “I could turn around and go back home, Frank.” She’d taken an extra day off, so what? It was a perfectly normal thing to do for someone who had just lost someone close to them. At least, that was the excuse she had given Frank.Thathad been a fun conversation. He’d reminded her that it had been over a week since Maisie’s death,andthat Lady A had been to work since,andthat things should be back to normal by now. Lady A hadbarelyrefrained from calling him every derogatory name she could muster up. Instead, she calmly explained to him that she had tried to pretend as though things were fine, but they weren’t, and she was doing her best.
The reality was that Anya needed a little more time before committing to Jaime’s plan. And as much as she trusted Jaime, she wanted to speak with Max and confirm he was truly on board. Well, that and use the opportunity to ask him about the other cases. It wasn’t the same as having the files in front of her, but Anya had seen how sure Max was that the cases were connected somehow. The M.O.s didn’t match, but that didn’t mean the unsub hadn’t escalated. Max’s certainty made Anya’sdecision to participate in this insane undercover operation a little easier.
“You go home, and I’ll fire you,” Frank growled.
“If I go home, that would be me quitting, Frank.” She laughed in his face and raised a defiant brow when he took a step towards her. He meant to intimidate her, but there were too many people around for Frank to be stupid enough to actually hurt her.
“That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day, woman.”
“I’ve been told.” Anya winked. “So far, it’s only made me a ton of money.”
“Yeah, well, no more excuses, Lady A. You’re putting out for the next client who wants it. And don’t give me that bullshit about”—Frank leaned in and lowered his voice—“woman problems. Sapphyre told me you don’t even get that shit anymore.”
Anya’s eyes snapped to Sapphyre, who was standing at the bar. Sapphyre smiled and raised her glass of champagne in a salute.Bitch. Anya muttered, “Well, she would know.”
“What?”
She brought her attention back to Frank. “I said, as usual, that it depends on the client. I’ll be in my chambers.” With that, Lady A turned her back on Frank and walked away.
“Your cop is back.”
Anya looked into the mirror and saw Sapphyre standing behind her. “Excuse me?”
“The hot cop that only shows up when you’re here. She’s back. She’s never here when you’re not. I thought I’d warn you.”
To an untrained eye, the smile on Sapphyre’s face was pleasant. Almost friendly. To Anya, there was something sinister behind it. She and Sapphyre had never been friends or even friendly in the four years she’d been here. Why the impromptu chat now?
“Warn me? Why would I need to be warned about the cop?”
“She seems to be watching you.” Sapphyre shrugged and sipped from her drink. “Look, A, we all know you had your little thing with Maisie off the books.”
Hold up! What? “Itwasn’toff the books. She paid for a session. Everything about that night was legitimate.”
“Right, right. It was justafterhours.” Sapphyre snickered. “Which also means you were the last one to see her alive.” Was Sapphyre accusing Lady A here? It sure felt like it. “I’m just saying maybe that’s why Detective Hottie keeps showing up to see you.”
